Our present invention relates to an underwire assembly for brassieres and the like and, more particularly, to the combination of an underwire and fabric structure connected to the underwire for improving the support provided in an underwire brassiere over other garments utilizing an underwire.
Underwires have been provided heretofore in brassieres to increase the support along the lower portions of the cup. Such underwires in the past have generally comprised metallic or in plastic members which have been configured to flex in the plane of the underwire and which have been received in tubular formations provided in the brassiere fabric so as to provide support for the cup and to impart a certain optimum shape to the cup in the plane of the wire. Metal wires coated with plastic have also been provided for this purpose and it is also known, in securing the underwire in its channel or tubular pocket, to form an underwire with a stitching flange at an end of the underwire or at one or more locations along its length to enable the underwire to be stitched through to retain it in place in its channel.
Underwires of this type are widely effective but frequently have characteristics which render them unsatisfactory. For example, the underwire may not be sufficiently rigid in its plane and sufficiently flexible transversely to its plane. The formation of a tubular pocket in the fabric into which the underwire must be inserted may be complex and costly.
Frequently the region in which the underwire is provided is insufficiently padded so that there is a danger that the underwire may be felt by the wearer. Problems with underwires include insufficient attachment of the underwire to the fabric so that the underwire may move in its pocket and pierce through the fabric to cause injury to the wearer or cause damage to the brassiere or other garment during washing.
It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved underwire assembly whereby the aforedescribed problems are obviated.
Another object of this invention is to provide an underwire assembly which has sufficient rigidity in its plane and flexibility transverse to its plane and yet constrains the underwire against free movement with respect to the garment and at the same time prevents the underwire from pressing through the fabric against the wearer.
It is also an object of this invention to improve the versatility of an underwire mounting and thereby reduce the cost and the number of operations needed in the manufacture of a brassiere or like garment having an underwire.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide an underwire assembly which, for a given underwire, can have controlled stiffness or flexibility in one or more directions and which nevertheless can provide different degrees of support at different locations along the underwire.
These objects are attained, in accordance with the invention, in an underwire assembly which is a composite of a wire and a fabric structure associated with the wire at least in part by being ultrasonically bonded through holes in the wire and thereby being fixed to the wire so that the fabric forms a relatively soft element of the composite structure while the wire forms a relatively rigid or hard element of that structure.
According to a feature of the invention, the fabric comprises at least two layers ultrasonically bonded together through holes in the wire and without prior formation of a channel or tubular pocket in the fabric. The fabric and the wire together are fixed in the garment and form a composite assembly which replaces the wire alone.
Once the assembly is incorporated in the garment, the wire cannot move because the fabric is welded through the holes in the wire fabric-to-fabric.
The composite structure of the fabric and the wire increases the support which can be provided by a wire and hence a thinner or less massive wire structures are used. The fabric layer on opposite sides of the wire may be of the same material or of different materials and the fabric can even be elastic in whole or in art.
An outer or inner end of the fabric can be used to make a seam or to connect the structure to the fabric of the cup.
The fabric on one side can be a brushed tricot which is flexible or inflexible, soft or hard, and preferably is turned toward the body and helps to contribute to the comfort of the garment in the portion thereof against the body. One of the other fabric layers may be padded or a pad can be introduced between the fabric layer and held in place by a weld seam extending at least partly around the pad.
Preferably the wire is a plastic wire provided with spaced-apart holes but the holes may be circular, oval or even rectangular with an elongated shape preferred.
The wire itself may be formed with relatively thick ribs along its inner and outer edges and a thinner web which can be provided with the holes according to the invention.
The structure is designed so that it is asymmetrical with reference to the cup in the sense that the composite wire assembly extends upwardly to a lesser extent along the midline of the brassiere and the inner side of the respective cups and to a greater extent along the exterior side of the cup. In the system of the invention, the welds are effected fabric-to-fabric rather than between fabric and a stiff plastic which ensures a softer structure and one which is less brittle than systems in which the weld is effected to a stiff plastic bar.
The system completely eliminates the need for separately making a channel and inserting an underwire therein and hence the operations involved in folding a woven bias tape and stitching the seam to produce the channel can be completely eliminated.
The fabric used as part of this composite can be filled with any type of padding, for example a gel, and the selection of various types of fabric for the inner and outer surfaces can provide different fields of optical effects as may be desired.